Fairmont to sell Raffles Hotel

Fairmont to sell Raffles Hotel
 
SINGAPORE - Fairmont Raffles Hotels International said on Thursday that it will sell its stake in Singapore’s landmark Raffles Hotel to a consortium led by ex-Credit Suisse banker Mark Pawley.
 
 
Fairmont, which is controlled by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and US private equity firm Colony Capital, did not disclose the selling [...]

Ho Bee’s Q1 net profit down 62%

Ho Bee’s Q1 net profit down 62%
 
Property developer, Ho Bee Group, on Thursday reported its net profit for the first quarter eneded March 31, 2008 fell 62 per cent to $26.10 million (US$18.93 million) due to the lower recognition of revenue from a property project.
 
Ho Bee, famed for its Sentosa projects, said earnings per share [...]

HPL in Libyan property venture

HPL in Libyan property venture
 
Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) said the company and the Social Security Fund Investments Company (SSFI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the formation of a joint venture company for the development of hospitality and tourism projects in Libya.
 
 
HPL said that with its superb Mediterranean climate, 1,800 kilometres of pristine [...]

Ascott buys London property for US$85.13 million

Ascott buys London property for US$85.13 million   
 
The Ascott Group (Ascott) said it has bought a serviced residence within London’s ‘Midtown’ region at High Holborn for 43.5 million pounds (US$85.13 million).
 
 
Ascott currently leases the property from Land Securities plc and operates it as Citadines London Holborn-Covent Garden.
 
Land Securities plc is the United Kingdom’s largest [...]

Ho Bee’s Q1 net profit drops 62% to S$26m

Ho Bee’s Q1 net profit drops 62% to S$26m
  
SINGAPORE: Property developer Ho Bee has reported a 62 percent drop in first quarter net profit to S$26 million. Its revenue also fell 62 percent to S$94 million.
 
Ho Bee said this was mainly due to the lower recognition of revenue from a property development project, [...]

Ascott acquires prime London property for S$116m

Ascott acquires prime London property for S$116m
  
SINGAPORE: CapitaLand’s Ascott unit has bought an existing serviced residence in London for S$116.4 million.
 
The property is located within London’s ‘Midtown’ region at High Holborn.
 
Ascott is currently leasing the property from Land Securities, the UK’s largest real estate investment trust.
 
The property is being operated under [...]

Inflation to hit Singapore harder than US economic slowdown

Inflation to hit Singapore harder than US economic slowdown
  
SINGAPORE : Inflation is a more serious problem for Singapore and other Asian economies than an economic slowdown in the United States, according to HSBC’s senior Asian economist, Robert Prior-Wandesforde.
 
He said if inflation continues to push upwards, Asia could find itself facing an economic slowdown [...]

Indiabulls to raise US$235m in Sg IPO

Indiabulls to raise US$235m in Sg IPO 
  
Indiabulls Properties Investment Trust plans to raise about 235 million US dollars in a Singapore initial public offering to fund investment in Indian real estate.
 
According to a listing prospectus, the trust will be managed by Indiabulls Real Estate, which is expected to hold 42.8 percent of [...]

Singapore office rents to stay high for next 12 to 18 mths

Singapore office rents to stay high for next 12 to 18 mths 
 
 
Rents in Singapore’s office market could stay at artificially high levels for the next 12 to 18 months.
 
This is according to a report by property consultancy CBRE which said the republic’s office leasing market remained active in the first quarter with renewals [...]

US home slump puts owners ‘underwater’

US home slump puts owners ‘underwater’
 
Values fall 7.7% in Q1 to lowest point in nearly 3 years
 
(NEW YORK) US home values dropped 7.7 per cent in the first quarter to the lowest in almost three years, according to estimates by Zillow.com, an online data provider.
 
The decline is the biggest in 12 years [...]